Vincent and the Doctor (TV story)
Vincent and the Doctor 'is the tenth episode of the fifth series of ''Doctor Who. It was written by Richard Curtis, directed by Jonny Campbell and featured Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. Overview To be added Synopsis Visiting a museum, the Doctor and Amy are especially excited with the gallery for Vincent van Gogh. Many of van Gogh pieces are displayed, including "The Church at Auvers (1890)". However there is something irregular discovered on the painting - a small alien image within a window pane. The Doctor quickly takes Amy back to 1890 where they locate the troubled artist that upsets the locals, cannot pay his bills, and is able to see an invisible monster that no one else is able to see. Plot Auvers-sur-Oise, France, 1890 - Vincent van Gogh sits painting his current work-in-progress, Wheatfield with Crows. 120 years later, in Paris 2010, the Doctor and Amy visit the Musée d'Orsay to look around the works of van Gogh; Amy is thrilled to see them though is confused as to why the Doctor has taken her to various tranquil places on their latest trips, such as Arcadia and the Trojan Gardens. The Doctor dismisses this (remembering the loss she suffered that she can't) and draws her attention back to the art. She pulls him over to The Church at Auvers and the Doctor spots the face of a creature in the window that shouldn't be there. Pulling Amy away, they head back to the TARDIS so they can pay a visit to the artist himself. Landing in 1890, the find van Gogh arguing with the owner of the cafe he frequents and most of the staff and village folk calling him mad, drunk or a laughing stock. Amy manages to win his favour by buying him a drink and she and the Doctor introduce themselves to Vincent. The Doctor asks Vincent of his plans to paint the church any time soon when they are interrupted by a crying woman asking for help. They rush off to investigate and find the woman's daughter having been murdered; the villagers all turn on Vincent, blaming him for the death and throwing things at him, forcing him, Amy and the Doctor to flee. They return to Vincent's house and cogitate when Amy goes outside to look at more of his work when she is attacked by an unseen assailant. Vincent suddenly goes berserk and starts swiping at the air with a pitchfork when the Doctor attempts to settle him and his is swatted aside by the same assailant that is only visible to Vincent. After they send it away, Vincent sketches the creature for the Doctor (over one of his own paintings, to his chagrin) and he leaves to take it to the TARDIS for analysis. Digging out a device, he tries to identify it from VIncent's drawing, but comes up short; however, as he steps out of the TARDIS, it appears on the reflective screen and it identifies it as a Krafayis. It takes the Doctor a moment to realise the actual creature is right behind him and it chases him through the street, but he manages to evade it, only to run into Amy seconds later. They return to Vincent's home and wake him to the sight of sunflowers strewn throughout his garden. The Doctor proposes that Vincent paints the church today and he agrees to; after he leaves, the Doctor warns Amy of the risk this undertaking entails as there is a chance of Vincent's life being cut short and history changing. However, when the Doctor comes to check on him, he finds him suffering a mental breakdown, fearing that the Doctor and Amy will leave him as all others do and violently orders him to go away while he curls up in despair. The Doctor solemnly tells Amy that they can't impose on Vincent any further or run the risk of further compromising his mental state and cause him to take his own life, which history states he will do in a few short months, sooner. As they prepare to head to the church themselves in the hope the Krafayis will still appear, Vincent emerges from upstairs, easel in hand and prepares to accompany them. On their way to the church, the Doctor makes a plan on how to deal with the Krafayis when they find it when they are interrupted by the passing service from the deceased girl from the village. The girl's mother gives a disgusted look toward the three of them as they pass. When they arrive at the church, Vincent proceeds to paint into the evening (the Doctor getting increasingly antsy and bored as time passes). The Krafayis appears in the window and the Doctor goes after it by himself with his device. While inside, he looks at the window it's supposed to be in but it moves behind him and destroys the device. As Amy runs in to help him, they hide in a confessional and the creature strikes at it, able to hear them even whispering. Vincent hurries into the church and distracts the Krafayis long enough for them to get out and withdraw to another chamber. The Doctor attempts to reach out to the Krafayis, trying to talk it down, but it moves around to the window and breaks through. Instead of attacking, it idles it's way around the walls and the Doctor realises that it's blind, the reason for it's pack abandoning it and accounting for it's acute sense of hearing. The Krafayis overhears this and charges at them; Vincent, with the spiked legs of his easel pointed at it, stands to defend and the Krafayis is accidentally impaled on the spikes. Vincent is remorseful, having only meant to wound it and the Doctor comforts the dying creatures as it finally settles in it's grave. The threat ended, Vincent, Amy and the Doctor spend the evening watching the stars in the sky and Vincent paints what he sees with words for the pair of them. The following morning, the Doctor and Amy prepare to depart and say their goodbyes to Vincent; however, on their way out, the Doctor has an idea and calls for Vincent to follow them. They take him back to the TARDIS with them and jump forward to the Musée d'Orsay in 2010 and bring Vincent to the gallery where the public are all admiring his work; the Doctor calls the museum curator Dr. Black over and asks him for his impression on van Gogh; Black goes on to give an impassioned speech about Vincent as the greatest painter of all time, commending everything that he envisioned in the light of his constant torment and pain and how he transformed that darkness into unbridled harmony and beauty, citing him as one of the greatest men that ever lived. Vincent is overwhelmed with emotion by his words and graciously thanks him for everything as the Doctor and Amy return him to 1890 in the TARDIS. Before they leave, Vincent thanks the Doctor and Amy for the experience, even offering Amy the chance to stay with him but she politely declines and he states that he'll look at the world in a new light from here on out. Saying farewell, the Doctor and Amy leave in the TARDIS, to an amused Vincent and return to 2010. Amy is ecstatic at the prospect that Vincent's life being given new meaning will have changed the future for the better, though the Doctor isn't certain about that. When she makes it to van Gogh's gallery, Amy is distraught to learn that, despite everything, Vincent still committed suicide and history remained unchanged. As the Doctor comforts her, saying that despite the fact that they couldn't save Vincent from his ultimate fate, they still made a better impact on his life then he had had before and points out the fact that the Krafayis is no longer in The Church at Auvers. Amy then notices his paining Sunflowers and approaches it to discover a newly-appeared feature, a credit to her from Vincent. The Doctor and Amy then take a moment to reflect on Vincent and admire his everlasting art. Cast * The Doctor - Matt Smith * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan * Vincent - Tony Curran * Maurice - Nik Howden * Mother - Chrissie Cotterill * Waitress - Sarah Counsell * School children - Morgan Overton, Andrew Byrne * Dr. Black - Bill Nighy Crew To be added References To be added Story Notes To be added Continuity To be added Home video and audio releases To be added External Links * Official ''Vincent and the Doctor'' page on '''Doctor Who Website